This invention pertains to a device and method for control of a double deck elevator, which has an upper deck and a lower deck serving two adjacent floors.
Compared with the single-deck elevator, the double deck elevator system can transport many more passengers to destination floors. Consequently, it has been adopted for skyscrapers and high-capacity buildings.
A typical double deck elevator system has a plurality of elevators, each of which has an upper deck and a vertically adjacent lower deck. Information on the position and running direction of the individual cars (elevator cars), car calls, hall calls, etc., is collected from a controller on each elevator by a group controller. Based on the collected information, various control commands are output via said car controllers to the corresponding elevators.
A car call refers to the operation of destination information by a passenger using the car operating panel set on each deck of the double deck elevator system. For example, when the passenger pushes the button indicating the destination floor on the car operating panel, the destination information of the passenger on that deck of the elevator is sent to the car controller.
The hall call is made from the hall call panel set near the door on the elevator stage on each floor. Said hall call panel is composed of, for example, an upward call button and a downward call button. The passenger who needs the elevator pushes the button in the destination direction, and after entering the elevator that arrives upon the call, the passenger inputs the destination floor on the car operating panel.
For the double deck elevator, when the passenger wants to go to the top floor of the building, the passenger must enter the upper deck. If the passenger enters the lower deck, the passenger has to change to the upper deck the next to top floor in order to complete the trip via elevator. In this case, the passenger has to wait on the landing stage twice instead of once, increasing the total wait and trip time.
In the conventional case, usually, the passenger ascends from the lobby level to the next upward first floor by means of an elevator, escalator or the like, and then boards the elevator from to reach the top floor. However, at an intermediate embarkation floor, the upper deck may not respond, instead the lower deck responds. In this case, after entering the lower deck, the passenger still must change decks on the next-to-the-top floor to complete the trip via elevator.
When the passenger is forced to change decks on the next-to-the-top floor by initiating an upward hall call after exiting the lower deck, except when the timing is good and there is another upward moving elevator nearby, a very long waiting period may occur until another elevator is able to respond. On the other hand, although it is only one floor up, climbing the stairs is inconvenient, in particular for disabled persons and wheelchair users. In addition, in consideration of the group control of the elevator, as the hall call takes place twice for this single trip, the service become poorer.
As another known method for servicing the top floor, is a pseudofloor, that is, an overhead space for receiving the upper deck. The upper deck stops on the pseudofloor, while the lower deck stops on the top floor. However, in this method, it is necessary to build the hoistway one floor higher. This increases the construction cost, and an unnecessary space is formed.
As yet another method for going to the top floor, a top floor destination call button is added to the hall call panel on the departure floor (such as in the lobby or other main floor). The solution causes only the upper deck to respond to a top floor destination hall call. However, adding top floor destination call buttons on all of the floors increases the cost significantly.
The purpose of this invention is to solve the aforementioned problems of the conventional methods by providing a device and method for control of the double deck elevator characterized by the fact that it can shorten the waiting time for changing decks when the passenger wishes to go to the top floor so that the passenger can use the elevator more easily, and, at the same time, it can improve the performance of the group control of the elevator.
In order to solve the aforementioned problem, this invention provides a device for control of double deck elevator characterized in that the double deck elevator system has a plurality of double deck elevators, each of which has an upper deck and a lower deck for transporting passengers to two adjacent floors at the same time; this device for control has a top floor car call button set in the car operation panel of the lower deck of each of said plural elevators, and a control means which performs the following operation: when said top floor car call button is pushed, a car call is registered with an intermediate floor designated as the connecting floor, and at the same time, the arrival time for the lower deck at said connecting floor is continually predicted; when said predicted arrival time becomes shorter than a preset time due to the movement of the elevator, an upward hall call is registered at said connecting floor; when said upward hall call is registered, it is processed to find another elevator from among said plurality elevators that can arrive at said connecting floor in the shortest time; the upper deck of this chosen elevator is assigned to be the deck that should respond to said upward hall call.
In addition, this invention provides a method for control of a double deck elevator system characterized in that the method is for control of a double deck elevator system having a plurality of double deck elevators, each having an upper deck and a lower deck for serving two adjacent floors at the same time; this control method is used when a car call is made for the top floor from the lower deck of said elevator. In this control method, when the car call is made from said lower deck with the top floor as the destination floor, a car call is registered for an intermediate connecting floor, and simultaneously the time for the lower deck to arrive at said connecting floor is continually predicted; when said predicted arrival time becomes shorter than a preset time due to movement of the elevator, a hall call is processed to register an upward hall call at said connecting floor; when said upward hall call is registered, the call allotment is processed to find another elevator from among said plurality of elevators that can arrive at said connecting floor in the shortest time, and the upper deck of the chosen elevator is assigned as the deck to respond to said upward hall call.